


Love is Mystical

by NinaRooxx



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Self-Destruction, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, THERE ARE HAPPY BITS TOO THOUGH I PROMISE OK?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-08 13:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15243990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinaRooxx/pseuds/NinaRooxx
Summary: Most people don't develop their soul mark until later on in life. Some marks develop in childhood, however most marks started to show in the teenage years. Rarely it would be in adulthood but even more rarely than that, they never appeared.-Fic where Tony doesn't get his marks until he's in his thirties, and fully believed that he was destined to be alone.-This is a Soulmate AU for the Starker week!The rating and tags may grow.





	1. The Storms Above

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stfustucky (iwillpaintasongforlou)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillpaintasongforlou/gifts).



> Hey! This is just the beginning but I wanted to have something up on the day to celebrate Starker!

_ May 30th, 2000. _

Thunder rumbles overhead and lightning flashes through the tall window panes of the Maternity ward, illuminating the room where both mother and child sleep side by side. The past 3 days had been tough for the Parker family, with major storms causing trouble all over the city, and Mary just over 9 months pregnant. Both she and Richard had been adamant that they wanted to welcome their child into the world at home, but ultimately this is where they had ended up.   
  
_Peter Benjamin Parker._   
  
Richard was semi slumped over the side of the crib, exhausted from supporting his wife deliver this tiny bundle in front of him.   
This tiny bundle that meant so much to them.  
This tiny bundle that was meant to be theirs and theirs alone, something - someone, that their work could never take from them. He was theirs to protect, from the moment they knew of his existence to the moment they will inevitably cease to be.  
This tiny bundle who, even at moments moments old, wore the mark of someone else in a dark grey across the entirety of his back.  
  
The laws surrounding soul marks were constantly changing, but the message behind them stayed firmly rooted. If you bore each others marks, the fates had decided that you should be together. It didn't matter if the relationship was platonic or more, individuals had the right to be together regardless of circumstances.   
  
So, not everyone was all in on marks, preferring to create their own path in life; but it was undeniable that if you did find your "other" they would become a part of your life somehow.   
  
Most people don't develop their soul mark until later on in life. Some marks develop in childhood, however most marks started to show in the teenage years. Rarely it would be in adulthood but even more rarely than that, they never appeared.    
  


* * *

 

_ May 30th, 2000. _

Sitting out on his balcony watching the storm roll out over the city, Tony Stark cradled a tumbler of scotch close to his chest. Yesterday was his thirtieth birthday, and he should have been downstairs enjoying the party more, entertaining his many guests but his mind was on other things. Every year that had passed since his teen years, this party would be one of his biggest opportunities to try and find his soulmate. Secret hopes and fears that he would bump shoulders with someone, and the fates would realize that they had made a mistake; that he wasn't destined to be alone for his existence.

 

Another year. Another number. Another faceless person in his bed.

 

This year was different. Over the last nine months, small specks of grey had popped up over his back, splodge at a time. The first time Tony noticed the marks just over his shoulder, he was covered in motor oil that had leaked out from the car he was working on. Much to his frustration, the stain wouldn’t budge. Soaking in a hot shower later that evening - maybe the next day? He wasn’t sure - Tony caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror and saw that not only had the marks not gone, but there were more. Most were out of reach, clustering together in the center of his back but one thing he knew for sure is that these weren’t just any old stains.   
A sickening mix of horror and excitement built in his gut as he slid down the smooth tiled wall.  
Wrapping his arms around his knees, Tony struggled to catch his breath as the realisation slammed into him at full speed.   
  
They’re not stains.   
They’re his soulmarks.  
Somewhere on this planet, there’s a person who’s soul matches up with his.


	2. Just a child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is why we need nice things.  
> I'll throw in some warnings at the end of the chapter because this could be quite emotional for some, and I don't want anyone upset, ok <3 xxx
> 
> Sorry for the delay, work's been a bish.

From that moment in the shower, Tony’s worldview had been switched upside down. As much as he'd hoped this would happen one day, deep down Tony never really believed it would happen.   
The Merchant of Death. That's what the media called him now.   
He wasn't supposed to have someone to match him, that's why he had no real issues following in his father's footsteps, building up Stark Industries, and becoming the front line in tech and weaponry. Having no one waiting for him at home meant that he could spend as much time working as he wanted, without worrying that he was neglecting his other half, or that something might come back to bite them both in the ass.   
  
In his teenage years, Tony still held out hope that he'd find someone capable of keeping up with him, maybe at college, or MIT. It never happened. Sure there were plenty of guys and gals that would love to spend a night or two with him, the occasional coffee date here and there, but nothing that stuck.   
The sheer volume of people that were holding out for their fated to-be astounded him. Teens would bare their marks with pride, with the ambition of finding their one and only. He would see people with marks on their arms, legs, chests, and each time he saw them he'd nod and smile at the person; a silent nod that universally meant good luck. After all, it was everybody's dream.    
  
The adults he saw, like his parents for example, tended to have theirs covered; only showing them off when the occasion called for it.    
On the topic of Howard and Maria, they had assured Tony from the youngest age that he would get his marks when he was ready. His mother would dance around the living area with him in her arms, telling tales of souls that would twine and sing to each other from different continents; how they would always wind up on the shores, following the call from within to seek out what was theirs. These were some of his favorite memories of Maria. Coming up with different stories and possibilities of when and where he would meet his partner always made her smile. On the rare occasion when she would tuck him into bed, it was always with a kiss to the forehead and a promise that his time would come.   
Howard, on the other hand, was less of a daydreamer and more of a  _ make it happen _ , kind of man. Always busy in his lab with little time for romantic ideals.     
  
__ "Come have a look at this circuit, Tony, and get your head out of the clouds. It'll happen when it'll happen, so don't waste your time waiting."  
  
The more time Tony spent working on little bits and pieces with his father, the happier the man seemed to be, but it never stopped him from opening up a bottle of his favourite drink at the end of the night. 

It was those nights that Tony really started to doubt if soulmates were all they were cracked up to be. Just a little child, cradled against his mother's chest, whilst Howard criticized Tony’s attempts that day; always spieling on about how he should be doing better. How Howard hadn’t build them this life from nothing, just for the kid to not learn a damn thing. If he couldn’t be useful now, then he had no hope of holding on to his soulmate later on, and no chance of survival.   
  
Maria might not have been the most maternal of mothers, but she still didn’t want Tony to be near this kind of behaviour. Confiding in Edwin, they worked out a plan. If it looked like Howard would be having a drink, Tony would go on over to the Jarvis’ household for the night to sleep. Edwin was always loyal to the Starks, Howard being his best friend and employer, but he too had begun to dislike the times when Howard gave in to the tipple.    
Slowly this arrangement grew to be more than just a night every now and then.

* * *

 

Edwin Jarvis, and his wife Ana, had never been able to conceive children. Having a family of their own was something that they had dreamt of for the longest time, but had never taken priority. The couple mourned the children that would never be after a few years of trying, but decided that their ultimate priority would be to celebrate their life that they would share together, as their marks dictated.    
When Maria asked for help it took everything they had not to leap at the chance and take the child to be theirs, full stop.    
Three stressful days is what it took for the couple to agree that they would help, but if this were to be the case, then Tony would be allowed to go to them whenever he wanted within reason.    
Not just because of Howards tendencies.    
  
With Ana, Tony felt safe. Jarvis, as the family called him, became something of a second father figure to the lad, always there when Tony needed him with unconditional love.    
  
They would sit on the sofa together, the young boy cradled on her lap after a long day, Edwin to the side watching with amusement; chest full of emotions that swirled and filled him to the brim with joy. Tony’s little fingers spent hours tracing the twisted ropes that circled Ana’s wrists and palms that matched Jarvis’. It was something that felt special, not a secret per say, but touching other people’s marks wasn’t really something you were supposed to do.    
Tony’s tiny mind racing, question after question, a burning curiosity that he needed to sate with information.   
  
_ When did they show up? Does it hurt? What about when he pokes them? Can Mr. Jarvis feel it too? Are they really identical? _ _  
_

Ana never hid her marks from him, and would answer as many questions the child had for them as she could.    
In return, when Tony could find the parts, he’d create little things for her. Trinkets more than anything. It started with small stones that he thought were pretty, half wrapped in metals to make different shapes and show off their unique features. The larger ones Ana would display with pride on the mantelpiece, or her dressing table, depending on where they looked the best. There was always one every now and then that would make it onto the charm around her wrist.    
Proud to have something he made so close to her marks, Tony would fluster and blush, overwhelmed at times by the affection that the couple would show.   
  
Wanting to show them he was useful, he’d hide in their house with his little tool kit and be constantly ‘repairing’ electronics, trying to improve them. A little timer that wound down in the kitchen would suddenly have different settings and chimes when it reached zero. Once, a device to sharpen the channels on the radio showed up out of nowhere, looking as though it had been there all along.   
By the age of 6 Tony could be found in their garage more often than not, taking apart motors and putting them back together again, so that they ran more efficiently than before. The Jarvis household had the best lawn mower around.   
Ana cried with laughter when she saw what Tony had done to their lawn flamingos. Edwin’s look was one of surprise and horror when he flicked the switch that had been hidden and they lit up like twin neon lights in the night. That was one of Tony’s favourite changes.

 

Ana would lead him back inside by the hand and let him sit on the kitchen counter whilst she baked and made supper.    
“Cooking is just another kind of science, Tony. Chemistry, with a dash of love.” She would always say, one hand on the pot, the other on the child’s back as he stirred the sauce.   
Tony tilted his head with a put upon pout. “Love isn’t a science, Ana.”   
“It has to be a science that we just don’t know enough about. With you around, I’m sure of its existence,  _ Drágaságom _ !”    
Despite wanting to argue his point, Tony’s mouth wouldn’t cooperate as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Leaning forwards suddenly into her embrace, the child sniffled, determined to hold them in at any cost. Ana was always so kind to him, this house always welcoming.    
Home, he supposed, could mean more than just the house you live in.   


This felt like the kind of love that soulmarks were supposed to nourish.

It was days like those that Tony, too, believed that love  _ had _ to exist. 

  
There was a small, quiet part of him that wished he never had to return to the Stark mansion. Not when Howard’s version of fatherhood was made up of harsh words and little else, and Maria was so caught up with dreaming and ideals, that she could manage little more for Tony than to shelter him from reality. Here, in this house, Ana and Edwin gazed at each other with a kind of understanding that Tony couldn’t fathom. Eventually he started to recognize that this kind of understanding and effort they put into their relationship was something that his parents just didn’t have.

When Howard sent Tony to boarding school, it damn near broke the little units’ heart, but at least he was away from the mess of a scientist that never knew how to express his feelings towards his son.

* * *

 

Resentment was strong at first, how could his  _ father  _ send him away from the people he loved? Howard was supposed to love him, not want him gone; and Tony was determined to change this. 

Despite being one of the youngest and brightest minds around, it wasn’t enough. Excelling above everyone else didn’t matter, not really. Working on his electronics and grasping onto the tech and science behind it only ever merited a “Well done.” some of the time.    
MIT and graduating early still didn’t have the effect desired in regards to his father.   
Yes, it meant that Howard was talking about him more, but it felt more like being some kind of prize - or accessory -  never the loved son that he wanted to be.   
Resentment gave way to bitterness, and slowly over the years faded to a hopelessness.   
  
The two people that he loved most on his planet had always been proud of him. Letters sent back and forth on a weekly basis, sometimes accompanied by little things that reminded him of them, and them of him. Cookies and preserves were delivered and shared with some of his classmates. Updates on how Maria was when she was _ too busy _ to talk to her son herself, but always with much nicer wording. They never spoke of Howard. Mainly because Tony could pick up any tabloid and there would always be at least a small section somewhere about the leaps and bounds in technology, and weaponry, that S.I was creating.   
These letters were a beacon of light and love for the teen, always. A physical reminder that he  _ was  _ missed and that they did care; that _ somebody _ cared.   
  
Nothing Tony ever did was enough for Howard… and then he lost them both in that crash.    
As soon as Jarvis knew what had happened, he went straight to Tony to give him the news himself, and most importantly, to take him home.    
Clinging to the only remaining constants in his life, Tony wept for his parents in the only place he’d truly felt safe; On the sofa, sandwiched between Ana and Edwin. Even then, the air felt heavy and suffocating with the promise of more to come.   
  
Ana passed away five months later to an illness that struck hard and fast, unrelenting even though they needed more time.    
Tony and Edwin had barely had the time to pull themselves together when Jarvis was shot down in a bank robbery gone wrong.

  
How was one teen supposed to cope with all this loss in such a short amount of time? How was anyone?   
Stark Industries wanted nothing to do with him, and the only support given was from Obadiah Stane who offered to take the reins until Tony was ready.   
  
Tony started to fall into the same habits of his father. Too much drink but with added severe self-destructive tendencies. Why not? It’s not like he had a soulmate waiting for him somewhere out there. His skin was void of any marks, other than the ink that he paid for, and small scars from his work.   
With no one there to pick up the pieces, he felt desolate in a world of pairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for emotional child neglect/abuse, issues conceiving, death in the family. Tiny Stark having a bad time :(


End file.
